Abstract

We present a study addressing the effectiveness of a monolayer of hydrogen as the lithographic resist for controlled three-dimensional (3D) growth of nanostructures on the Si(100) surface. Nanoscale regions on the H-terminated Si(100) were defined by H-desorption lithography via the biased tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to create well-defined regions of surface “dangling bonds,” and the growth of 3D nanostructures within these regions was achieved using a simultaneous disilane deposition and STM H-desorption technique. We demonstrate that 3D growth is strongly confined within STM depassivated regions while unpatterned H:Si(100) regions are robust against adsorption of the precursor molecules.

This work was supported by funding from Zyvex Laboratories LLC (USA), A*STAR (Singapore) under the Project No. IMRE/08-1P0102, and the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Contract No. N66001-08-C-2040.